The Doll Master
by Saku-Chan.x
Summary: AU: After her grandmother passed away, Sakura was left with all of her possessions including a few interesting dolls, that come alive? Life had never been this complicated for Sakura, "Sakura-sama, we have come to take care of you." Until now. MultiSaku
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Summary:** AU: After her grandmother passed away, Sakura was left with all of her possessions including a few interesting dolls, that come alive? Life had never been this complicated for Sakura, "Sakura-sama, we have come to take care of you." Until now. MultiSaku

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**The Doll Master**

**Chapter 1**

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"Haruno-san, thank you for all your hard work today." The teacher beamed at her top student, the bubblegum haired girl bowed and returned the cheery smile. "Thank you sensei, it was nothing really." She replied honestly, accompanied with a blush colouring her cheeks.

"You're too modest Sakura-san; now don't forget to finish reading the text and answer the questions okay?" She reminded the bubbly girl, a stern expression crossed her face, but a smile threatened to break out any moment.

"I won't sensei, have a nice weekend!" Sakura bowed again and with that, she left the classroom, a bright smile plastered on her face. Other students bowed in respect as she passed by in the halls which she returned with her smile, Sakura was looked up to by the students of her school as she was dependable, smart, easy to talk to and great at giving advice.

"H-Haruno-san, I was told to g-give this to y-you." She was approached by a shy student, holding out a piece of paper. She said her thanks to the boy before glancing at the note with hidden dread, sighing she opened the note and wasn't surprised with the content.

_-Sakura, _

_I'm sorry, but I can't make it tonight. I have lots of homework to get through._

_-Haru_

This was the third time he had cancelled on her this week, sometimes she wondered why they were dating in the first place if they didn't even see each other. It was great at the beginning, she couldn't get him to stay away but now...it was as if he couldn't care less about her. Her previously happy face melted away and was replaced with a depressed look.

She didn't know why she bothered in the first place; here she was getting all excited about finally seeing her boyfriend after a week when all she got in return was simply disappointment. The pinkette walked outside, only to be welcomed by a light rain shower. She opened up her umbrella and processed to make her way home and get started on her homework.

While adjusting her bag strap, she brushed a pink strand of hair behind her ear. The rain was starting to get heavier as she walked onwards, but it only darkened her mood further. She looked through shop windows as she passed by, until she arrived at a cosy cafe that was near her apartment.

'I could do with some cheering up,' she thought to herself, as she entered the cafe and was greeted with the heavenly scent of newly baked cinnamon buns, she smiled slightly as she made her way to the counter, and waited her turn. She silently observed the cafe, emerald eyes looked through unfamiliar faces until she recognised someone and her eyes widened in shock.

There, sitting at one of the end corners of the cafe was her _dear_ boyfriend Haru, who was joined by a blonde. From the eyes of an average person, you would quickly assume that they were a couple, seeing how..._close_ they were sitting next to each other. She suppressed the strong urge to walk over and demand what the hell he was doing, but managed to prevent her anger to get the better of her.

"Hello Miss, how may I help you?" The pinkette's reverie was broken as she turned to see a friendly face, a small notebook and pen in hand. "Umm, can I have a few cinnamon buns please?" She asked, keeping her tone polite as she heard laughter coming from a certain corner of the cafe. She smiled tightly, clenching her fists in evident anger.

"I'm sorry Miss, but they are still cooking but they should be done at any moment. Would you care to take a seat until then?" She shot her an apologetic look, as she gestured for her to sit down. Sakura inwardly scowled, at being forced to sit in the same room as that two-faced jerk but nevertheless smiled back,

"Sure, no problem." She replied, and with that she turned on her heel to find a seat, and to her dismay the only remaining seats available were near her backstabbing boyfriend. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and grudgingly walked over as quickly as possible without getting recognised. So this was "lots of homework"? After all this time, he was just using her and seeing someone else behind her back.

"Hey Haru-chan, do you want to go to the festival later?" The girl inquired, accompanied with a girlish giggle. Sakura inwardly gagged, she didn't know Haru-"chan" was interested in _these _kinds of girls.

"Sure, why not?" Sakura's eyes narrowed darkly, so he was available for _her _but not his girlfriend? She couldn't believed she was stupid enough to listen to his lies, the girls in her class tried to convince her that he was no good but she –being a nice person, was willing to give him a chance despite hearing rumours that he had a reputation of a playboy.

"Great! So, Haru-chan, I was wondering when you were going to like dump that Sakura girl." 'that' Sakura girl twitched in annoyance, but crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for his response.

"I haven't found the right moment, love. But trust me, she means nothing to me." He smiled softly at the girl sitting next to him, who sighed happily and snuggled up closer to him. Haru smirked smugly to himself; most girls were easy to impress. He froze for a moment, feeling a sudden sinister presence appear behind him.

"I mean _nothing _to you Haru-_chan_?" Sakura drawled; a sickeningly sweet tone laced in her words as she cracked her knuckles loudly, her eyes narrowing at the surprised boy who quickly pushed off the girl who sat beside him and shot up hastily as excuses started streaming out of his mouth.

"S-Sakura, what are you doing here?" He smiled weakly, but his poor attempt to calm the pinkette was futile. "So, you were cheating on me with some blonde bimbo?" Sakura accused him, and was answered by silence. She chuckled darkly, "Oh Haru-_chan, _you are just precious! You don't have any time for me, your _girlfriend_. But you are more than happy to spend time with another girl?" Her menacing aura was growing by the minute, which seemed to scare the living daylights of Haru-_chan_ and his new girl.

"Hmm, hey can I borrow your drink?" She asked the girl, who nodded frantically, her baby blue eyes widening by the second. She smiled mockingly sweet as she pick the glass up, and pretended to bring it to her lips before quickly tipping all of the contents onto the unexpected boy. She smiled as she settled the glass back to its original place. "Oh, did I embarrass you in front of your date Haru-chan?" She pointed to herself innocently, inwardly cheering when his chocolate brown eyes narrowed.

"Well, I'll make this easier for you _dearest_. I'm dumping you." And with that, she slapped him across the face and turned around to the counter, to pick up the bag of treats and gave her the right amount of money before leaving the silent cafe and walking back into the light rain, the liquid mixing with her tears as she didn't bother putting up her umbrella and jogged to her apartment. She fumbled clumsily with the key as she entered through the clean hallway, her soaking wet hair dripped on the floor.

She dragged herself up the stairs, sniffing all the way until she eventually reached her flat door. She was about to unlock the door, when she stumbled into a cardboard that was just outside of her door. Sakura blinked in confusion for a moment, before picking the box up and moved forward to unlock the door. Once she was in the kitchen, she settled the box onto her table and checked who it was from, but there was nothing written on it besides her address.

Grabbing a knife, she easily sliced the box's cover, which revealed a note, which she concluded after reading was from her solicitor. The box contained the last of her grandmother's possessions, a few old photos when she was younger and her grandmother's old collection of dolls, which she wasn't allowed to touch when she was a child.

A few months ago, Sakura learned that her grandmother had passed away, leaving her all alone in her flat. She was her guardian for what she can remember; strangely enough Sakura couldn't remember her parents –who did not bother keeping in touch with her all this years. Now that her grandmother had left her, she didn't have anyone left. The people in her school assumed that she came from a good, loving family, that she had the perfect life.

Sometimes she wished that she did, that she could go home to find her mother cooking dinner and her father coming home from work, and maybe have a brother or sister to look after and everything would be fine...but that was just wishful thinking.

After turning the kettle on, she picked up a picture of her grandmother and smiled sadly. The pink haired beauty picked all the photos, and arranged them around her small but cosy room. She lit candles near the photos, and after looking at the pictures for awhile, she didn't realise the tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes.

"I wish you were here, Obaasan," She whispered, and took a deep breath and before she knew it, the tears flowed down her cheeks. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't get the tears to stop and she finally gave in and cried her heart out. Something she tried to avoid when she found out her grandmother died, crying didn't solve anything and it made Sakura felt weak –a feeling that she loathed.

After an hour had passed, Sakura had managed to calm herself and kept herself busy by making herself a cup of coffee to help her with the stack of homework she had forgotten to do. It took her longer than expected as she struggled with the maths homework, being in an advanced class sure did have its disadvantages.

"It's getting late," Sakura mumbled, peeping at the clock to check the time. _11:06 _blinked back, she didn't usually go to bed this late in the night, as it was hard enough getting up early for school. The pinkette reluctantly got up from the floor, after picking up her mug and walked slowly into her kitchen. She stifled a yawn, as she made her fourth cup of coffee. She was only halfway through her homework, and needed to finish her English literature homework. Ugh, how she hated that subject with a passion.

She walked towards the cardboard box, after refilling the kettle with water and looked at the dolls. It was a bit creepy that they looked so...lifelike, they looked so real. Sakura wondered why her grandmother never let her touch them; she had a strict rule about even going near them, as if they were somehow enchanted.

'But that's just stupid, dolls can't come to life' Sakura dismissed the thought, chucking to herself at the idea. She picked up the two visible dolls in the box and waited, but nothing happened. 'What did I expect to happen? For them to suddenly come to life?' Sakura sighed, as she observed the detailed dolls. Her grandmother made a complete fuss over nothing; she carefully placed the dolls back in the box and poured herself a cup of coffee before returning back to work.

"Finally, I'm...done." Sakura yawned for the umpteenth time; she had luckily managed to finish all of her homework, after a _long_ two hour period, she had to focus on Macbeth. One of the reasons why she loathed English literature was that it mostly concentrated on coursework, mostly on Shakespeare's plays.

She rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes as tried to stand up, but felt her legs stiff from sitting down for too long. Sakura brushed the feeling off as she quickly switched the light off and walked to the couch and promptly fell into a deep slumber.

"Haru...kun," The pinkette mumbled, clutching tightly onto her surprisingly warm pillow. She snuggled closer, and sighed in content. What she didn't expect her was that her 'pillow' started to chuckle, the unfamiliar sound rang into Sakura's ears. Her eyes snapped open, and found herself staring into a pair of soft cerulean eyes.

"So you're finally awake, Sakura-sama." He shot a dazzling smile at the pinkette, who froze after noticing the position they were in. She shot up instantly, and backed away from the offending stranger and fell off the sofa.

"Are you alright, Sakura-sama?" The boy looked almost genially worried about her welfare, that Sakura nearly believed his act. But a more important question sprang to mind, how the hell did he get into her apartment?

"H-How did you get in, y-you pervert!" Sakura shouted, throwing the nearest thing at the boy, which happened to be her mug. Emerald eyes widened as he nonchalantly caught the object in his hand, sighing as he settled the cup on a nearby table.

"Please calm down, Sakura-sama." He advanced closer to her slowly, as if trying not to startle her. The pinkette's eyes narrowed dangerously, why did he keep persistently calling her "Sakura-_sama_", they had only met a few seconds ago!

"Don't tell me to calm down! And why are you calling me Sakura-sama!" She pointed suspiciously at him for a moment, "Wait, how do you know my name?" She tiled her head to the side, in a confused matter, her innocent side melting away her suspicious mind.

She inwardly fumed at the gall of the boy, as he grinned sheepishly, but her attention was momentarily averted elsewhere and before she knew it, he appeared out of nowhere and brought her hand to his lips. The contact made her flush brightly with embarrassment and instantly snatched her hand back from the offending male.

"Forgive me Sakura-sama, my name is Naruto Uzumaki." He introduced himself, that infuriating smile emerged again. "We have come to look after you," And with that, 'Naruto' gently pushed her to sit down on the couch. Sakura studied the male for a moment, to find that he looked strangely familiar, until she remembered he said 'we'.

"Excuse me, but who is 'we'," Sakura inquired, while trying to distance herself from the blond, and calmed herself after concluding that there wasn't any point in shouting in the early hours of the morning, as the neighbours would wonder why it was so noisy and see the males in her flat –not exactly something she wanted to explain.

Naruto pointed his thumb behind him, "Sasuke's in the kitchen preparing your soup," He informed the weary pinkette, whose eyebrows furrowed together at the foreign name. "He's cooking soup, for whom?" She rubbed her forehead, feeling it slightly warmer than usual.

"Well, it seems that you have the symptoms of the flu." He sighed, softly stroking the pinkette's hair almost affectionately. Sakura, after relishing at the tender touch, realised what she was doing and jerked away from the confused blond.

"Stupid Haru, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have run in the rain." She muttered darkly under her breath, she ran a hand through her messy tresses and shut her eyes to stop the tears from overflowing, she wasn't about to cry over some guy who clearly isn't worth the time. She was so deep in her thoughts, that she didn't notice a sudden presence appear next to her.

"Sakura-sama, its okay, please do not hide away your feelings." The said girl was about to push away Naruto, when she noted that that didn't sound _anything_ like the blond. She squeaked in surprise when she opened her eyes to find a dark haired male sitting next to her, and moved as far away from him as possible.

"Who are you people?" She cried, her eyes flickering frantically from Naruto to who she presumed was 'Sasuke'. "How did you get in my apartment? And why do you keep calling me Sakura-sama?" She slowly backed away from the two males, her eyes widened as unexpected tears started flow down her rosy cheeks. The pinkette felt slightly woozy, and a headache suddenly hit her, and didn't protest or struggle when she felt two pairs of hands move her back over to the couch.

"Sakura-sama, please you need to rest." Naruto pleaded with the sick pink haired girl, his soft blue eyes searching through her own emerald orbs. Sakura was about to retort when she felt the other boy positioned her head on his lap, and felt all her energy slowly disappearing.

"We promise to answer all of your questions when you feel better," He answered her silent question, and gently wiped away her tears. She turned slightly to face Naruto, who in turn nodded with a small, reassuring smile. Sakura sighed in defeat, and closed her eyes and found herself quickly falling asleep.

The two males exchanged a knowing look before looking back to the sleeping pinkette; there was going to be hell to pay when she woke up.

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A/N: Hey guys, it's been awhile! :) The beginning was cliché, I know but I've been watching Skip Beat a few days ago!

Just to let you know, I'll be taking down the poll next Friday. So if you haven't yet voted, go vote now!

I recently watched Toy Story 3 –which by the way was great! Spanish Buzz was hilarious xD how did you guys think of it?

Reviews make me happy, but constructive criticism is also appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

**Recap: **_"Sakura-sama, please you need to rest." Naruto pleaded with the sick pink haired girl, his soft blue eyes searching through her own emerald orbs. Sakura was about to retort when she felt the other boy positioned her head on his lap, and felt all her energy slowly disappearing. _

"_We promise to answer all of your questions when you feel better," He answered her silent question, and gently wiped away her tears. She turned slightly to face Naruto, who in turn nodded with a small, reassuring smile. Sakura sighed in defeat, and closed her eyes and found herself quickly falling asleep._

_The two males exchanged a knowing look before looking back to the sleeping pinkette; there was going to be hell to pay when she woke up._

**A/N**: I'm sorry for the delay, school kept me busy! Here you go guys, enjoy!

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**Chapter 2**

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Now, out of all the things Sakura expected to wake up to, it certainly wasn't to a strangely attractive man.

Usually, in situations like these Sakura would jump to conclusions. But, having a couple of hours sleep, plus her hectic day with her bastard of a boyfriend, finding out that dolls magically 'come to life' and also between all the madness questioning her sanity.

"Good morning, Sakura-sama!" Naruto chipped cheerfully, walking into the room with a tray of cinnamon buns in one hand, and a blanket in the other. Sakura grimaced slightly; she wasn't feeling very hungry at the moment, it was probably due to the stupid cold that was starting to develop in her system.

She tried to sit up, and winced. She could feel the headache pounding. Naruto, noticing this quickly put down the tray and made a beeline for Sakura. As the pinkette rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, the blond had already re-fluffed her pillow and easily settled it behind her back.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by the beaming smile from the blond stranger, who innocently held out the plate of sweets, like an act of truce.

Nevertheless, she wasn't to be put off by the suspicious boy. But, out of common curtsey she did, however hesitantly accept the peace offering. The blond, either ignoring this, or was plain ignorant kept the easy-going smile.

Taking a bite, she stole a brief glance at Naruto, who was occupying himself by simply watching her. This continued to unnerve her; but she tried to shrug it off, and took a deep breath and inwardly counted back from ten.

Normally, it wasn't necessary to use this method, as Sakura was known to be quite level-headed. But there was something about Naruto that she couldn't understand. As the one-sided staring competition continued, Sakura reached breaking point.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Sakura growled her jade eyes narrowed as she glared at the blond. He had the nerve to look like a deer caught in the headlights.

"H-huh? But I wasn't doing anything—"

"The hell you weren't doing anything!" She mockingly imitated his confused tone, "I'm trying to understand how the hell you suddenly turned up, and instead of you explaining yourself, you're just staring at me!" She barked, pointing an accusing finger at Naruto. "What's so goddamn interesting about me that's got you staring?"

The blond, instead of looking terrified by Sakura's clearly PMS moment, just sighed. He _sighed. _Sakura felt multiple veins popping on her forehead at the ignorant male, she was right about to retort when she heard him mumble something coherent.

"What? I can't hear you."

"I was staring at you because I was worried that you were still sick." He stated calmly. "You had a high temperature last night, so I looked after you until now." He watched as the pinkette's eyes casted to her hands in embarrassment, he sighed quietly.

"You shouldn't be upset with yourself, Sakura-sama." He smiled comfortingly, crouching down near Sakura, who slowly raised her head, regret was evident in her eyes. "But, you really shouldn't go outside without an umbrella next time." He chastised jokingly, his cheerful grin making another appearance.

Sakura smiled slowly, as a small laugh escaped her lips. Naruto seemed pleased with himself, as he stood up and brushed his trousers off. The pinkette glanced back to her unfinished food, suddenly feeling hungry. She nibbled greedily, and before long there was nothing but crumbs on her plate.

She nearly forgot about Naruto, having been temporary caught up in the tasty treat, until a tanned hand reached out for her plate. Sakura smiled in thanks, which he was more than happy to return. Now fully awake, Sakura stretched her arms above her head lazily; curiously she looked at her watch and slightly grimaced.

It seemed she had already wasted the morning sleeping; she was supposed to be finishing off the homework that was assigned yesterday. She clutched the blanket that was draped around her figure tightly, as she walked on the cold, wooden floorboards. She sighed dejectedly, not really in the mood to do homework, as she looked around for her school bag, only to turn around to find the wanted item in Naruto's hand.

She smiled gratefully, as she took the bag from him. Sakura searched the contents for the homework, and when she did find it, she was surprised to see it already finished. Blinking in confusion, she glanced to the blond for answers; he held his hands up as if saying 'It wasn't me'.

"I'm not so good at English, Sasuke is though." He scratched his cheek sheepishly, he pointed to the neatly handwritten piece. "Never was good at reading Shakespeare, could never understand what he was talking about half the time."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together in thought, so this "Sasuke" did her homework for her? She herself wasn't very fond of English either, despite the fact that she always got straight A's in the subject. In all honestly, she much preferred biology, as she wanted to become a doctor in the future.

"Speaking of this Sasuke, where is he?" Sakura inquired.

"Erm..." Naruto seemed to be in deep though for a moment, before his face brightened up like a Christmas tree.

"He said he was going out."

"...And did he say where he was going?"

"Erm, nope!" Naruto cheerfully piped, grinning from ear to ear.

Sakura shot him a deadpan look in response, but felt too tired to get angry. So instead, she plopped back down on her couch. Naruto stood nearby, but didn't sit down.

"Do you want to sit here Naruto? You don't have to stand you know."

The blond suddenly looked bashful, an almost apologetic smile adoring his face. "U-umm okay Sakura-sama..." He walked over, hesitantly. She waited for him to get comfortable, and offered him some of her blanket, which he refused stubbornly, saying that she needed it more than him.

"So Naruto, tell me about yourself."

"Okay! My name's Uzumaki Naruto," He began, his toothy grin beaming at her. "I am nearly too hundred years old, Sasuke's older by a few years." He seemed to sulk at that, Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"How is that even possible?" Sakura muttered mostly to herself in wonder. "—anyway, one of your very great-great grandfather was a well known professional doll maker." Naruto carried on talking, while taking on a casual tone.

"He created me and Sasuke, along with a few more dolls. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly one morning." A sorrowful look flashed upon his face, but as quick as it appeared, it melted away into an empty smile.

"Ever since then, there was no one left to take care of us. Some were brought by doll collectors, others just left." He shrugged nonchalantly, his head lowered, his spiky mop of hair shielding his eyes.

Sakura didn't know what came over her; it could have been sympathy, she wanted to comfort the blond, it didn't suit him being sad. So, without giving a second thought to her next actions, she scooted closer to him and hugged him tightly. She patted his back comfortingly; it seemed their roles of cheering up had been reversed.

Naruto's head snapped up in shock, his cerulean orbs watching the pinkette, without any hesitance he returned the hug. He felt a small, honest smile curl on his lips; her grandmother had been right about her caring nature.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura mumbled, leaning against the said male's hair. He nudged her softly; she took that as a silent response as she thought over she was going to say in her head carefully.

"I don't know what you've been through all these years, but you shouldn't feel bad about anything." She glared at him with a stern expression on her face, waving her finger in a scolding manner. "It wasn't your fault that your creator died or the fact that your friends left." Sakura lightly poked his forehead playfully, a smile of her own tugged at the corners of her lips.

Naruto stared at Sakura with an unreadable look, which made her feel self-conscious for a moment, until he grinned happily. She inwardly sighed with relief as she stood up and started to walk towards her kitchen.

"Where are you going, Sakura-sama?" Naruto easily caught up with her, looking like a picture of ease as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"I'm going to make lunch, Naruto. What do you usually eat?" Sakura inquired, while opening different cabinets in search for food.

"W-wait a minute, you're still ill Sakura-sama. Let me cook for you—"He tried to grab the items in the pinkette's hand, but he stopped when she shot him a silencing glare.

"Sakura."

"Huh?" He blinked in confusion.

"Just Sakura, none of that 'sama' crap. I get enough of that in school." And with that, she carried on with her task, with Naruto fawning over her like a mother hen, every attempt of persuading her of letting him take over with the cooking seemed futile.

"What's wrong with it Naruto? I didn't poison it if that's what you were wondering." Sakura said dryly, while eating her meal. Within the last ten minutes, she had prepared for the both of them fried egg and rice. (Including Sasuke, but he had yet to show up.) After Naruto had set the table, he remained suspiciously quiet.

"Eh? Oh, I was just thinking, that's all Sakura-chan." He pressed his palms together and said his thanks before snapping his chopsticks apart. Sakura didn't mind how he referred to her now, it was definitely better than having to hear 'sama' after her name.

Sakura sighed; the rest of the meal was spent in silence, with the exception of the odd conversation which often led to awkward pauses. There wasn't really much left to talk about, besides the obvious fact that he was a _doll_. But Sakura thought it was probably better if she waited until Sasuke returned to explain, she didn't think she would be able to cope with a depressed Naruto.

_KNOCK*_

Sakura's eyes flew to the door before returning to Naruto's unconcerned ones, he made no indication to move. She rolled her eyes, as she stood up to answer the door. As she passed by Naruto, he suddenly gripped her arm; she glanced at him in alarm, about to retort when he rose from his seat, his expression no longer easy-going or cheerful, but instead it was dark, intimidating –none of these would fit the usual, happy-go-lucky Naruto.

"Let me answer it Sakura, stay in here." Was all he said, as he slipped from the room and closed the door behind him. Sakura could feel the fear of the unknown slowly eating away at her, anticipation was pumping in her veins, making her feel anxious.

She heard the door open and as far as she knew, only words were exchanged between Naruto and a potentially dangerous person. She bit her lip nervously. Should she really be standing here when Naruto could be injured? She didn't know exactly what Naruto was capable of, yet she still feared for him.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly made her way to the door, the sound of her heart pounding felt like it was threatening to burst out of her chest at any moment. She waited for a moment; the conversation could be heard more clearly now she was right by the door.

"—teme, what the hell are you doing here?"

She heard a deep throated chuckle "Just wanted to see this new master of yours, is that a problem, baka?"

Sakura's hand froze on the door handle, the low voiced stranger sent shivers down her spine. She gulped quietly, too caught up in her own personal thoughts to notice the door opening smoothly.

"Hm, you're Sakura-_sama_?" The said girl's eyes shot up to look into brown, playful eyes. She didn't miss the mocking tone, and despite the situation she was in, anger was starting to build up inside of her. "I was expecting something more...cuter." He smirked, almost challenging the girl to react.

He was answered by the resounding echo of a slap; Naruto looked proud and impressed as he crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in approval. The male's head, which swivelled to his right didn't move. Sakura didn't take this as a good sign; maybe she shouldn't have reacted...

Ever so slowly, he turned and looked down at her. Sakura, though did not back down as she stared at him with an equal level of defiance. What surprised her most is when he suddenly burst into robust laughter; she blinked in confusion for a moment as she looked at Naruto for help. He sighed, shoving his hands into the depths of his pockets before making his way over.

"Name's Kiba, girly. And if you didn't know already, I'm also a doll." He grinned wolfishly at her; she didn't know whether she wanted to gag or slap him again for good measurement.

"C'mon you mutt, there's food in the kitchen." Naruto dragged the brunette into the small kitchen.

Sakura rubbed her temples in frustration, how exactly many dolls were there did Naruto mention anyway? Without a doubt they all wouldn't be able to fit in her two bedroom apartment, she could just barely manage having two around.

She just wished Sasuke would hurry up; he was probably the only sane one out of the group. (Including herself, of course. But then again, witnessing dolls come to life doesn't exactly keep you very sane.)

"Oi Kiba, stop hogging the food, stupid mutt, this is for Sakura-chan!"

"Who you calling mutt, Naruto-baka? Besides, I'm a _guest_. Don't be rude, it's polite to share, you know."

"You don't have manners Kiba, you're a _dog _remember?"

"Eh! Wanna fight Naruto-baka?"

'It's official, I'm surrounded by idiots.' Sakura sighed dejectedly, there was no way she was going to be able to survive _this_. Sasuke had better got his arse back here soon before she loses what's left of her sanity.

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**A/N2:** Done! :-)

Don't worry for those who did wonder where the hell Sasuke had gotten to, he'll make a re-appearance in the next chapter. Anyway, excuse the slightly depressing moments, I hope it wasn't too cliché. I find it hard to get a balance while writing about pasts, and for those who like Naruto + Sakura together, I added in a short-ish moment for you guys.

Recently, I had just slipped into the One Piece fandom. Though I just opt to watch the funny scenes rather than having to watch an entire episode, I have slow internet so it's just a nightmare really.

Anyway, thank you guys who reviewed/favourite/ or story alerted this story. I hope you enjoyed this!

'Till next time,

Saku-chan


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

**Recap**:

_She just wished Sasuke would hurry up; he was probably the only sane one out of the group. (Including herself, of course. But then again, witnessing dolls come to life doesn't exactly keep you very sane.)_

"_Oi Kiba, stop hogging the food, stupid mutt, this is for Sakura-chan!"_

"_Who you calling mutt, Naruto-baka? Besides, I'm a guest. Don't be rude, it's polite to share, you know."_

"_You don't have manners Kiba, you're a dog remember?"_

"_Eh! Wanna fight Naruto-baka?"_

'_It's official, I'm surrounded by idiots.' Sakura sighed dejectedly, there was no way she was going to be able to survive this. Sasuke had better got his arse back here soon before she loses what's left of her sanity._

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**Chapter 3**

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Much to Sakura's surprise, Sasuke promptly turned up on her doorstep no longer than ten minutes later, accompanied with a few groceries bags. When she asked him what he bought, he simply shown her a faded yellow sticky note with a list of items that she sworn she had left on the fridge earlier on that morning.

Nevertheless, she smiled gratefully at the ever silent male and reached out to grab the bags from him to sort out. However, it seemed that Sasuke didn't particularly like that idea as he shook his head to show his disapproval. Bemused, the pinkette narrowed her eyes in irritation and attempted again. This time, the raven haired male stepped to the side and towards the kitchen silently.

"Sasuke let me sort them out. It's only fair, because you went out and bought them!" Sakura protested hotly, as she followed the male in question, who placed the bags on the counter table and sighed. The pinkette decided to take the opportunity to snatch the bags away from the offending man. However, when she was just about to move, he casted almost lazy look in her direction and he shoved one hand into the pocket of his jeans casually.

"Sakura-sama, it is my duty and responsibly to look after you. Now please go lie down and rest." He ushered her out of the room, to go to the living room. He stayed for a moment to check her condition, exchanged brief words with Naruto then promptly left the room as quickly as he entered. The pinkette looked to the blond for answers, but he simply shrugged in response. "Sasuke can be a jackass sometimes, but he will do everything in his power to look after you."

What Naruto had said, had turned out to be true indeed. After tending to the groceries, it seemed that Sasuke had taken the liberty to cook dinner as well. However, by this time, there was no fight left in Sakura as she was reduced to being spoon fed with chicken noodle soup by Sasuke. The snarky brunette, who decided to lounge around her apartment, persistently kept annoying her with his flirting. But much to her relief, the raven haired male threatened to throw him out if he were to continue his "inappropriate display of words". Naruto had just about suppressed the urge to bark out in laugher, when the brunette crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

Monday morning had come far too quickly in Sakura's opinion; the weekend had been beyond draining for the pinkette. She had just barely managed to squeeze in time to work on her homework assignments, which were thankfully easy. When she looked over the English work, that Sasuke had finished for her (which she had spent a good ten minute lecturing the raven haired male on "cheating", needlessly to say, Sasuke didn't particularly like being told off.) This just provided good entertainment for Naruto and Kiba.

It wasn't a nice and bright sunny morning; instead it was a dark and miserable morning. Though, it did suit Sakura's mood. The grey clouds gathered together in a huddle, rain drops were already starting to pour out over the town. The pinkette sighed, as she brushed her hair in an attempt to remove any messy tangles. She took a generous sip of her black coffee, which was made by Sasuke; he had proven to be a bodyguard of some sort, he wasn't exactly friendly but he was willing to help in whatever way he could.

"Sakura-chan, do you want your breakfast now?" Naruto called out, breaking her out of her thoughts. The pinkette glanced briefly at her watch, then with a quick look-over in the mirror she grabbed her bag and opened to door to find the eager blond, who was accompanied by a small tray of toast and a few jars of various spreads.

How could she describe Naruto? Well, she was extremely relieved that he had stopped with the insistent formalises of calling her "sama". It sounded awfully strange, but she assumed that he was just trying to be friendly, as he held a certain jokester aura around him. He resembled a fox, with blond spiky hair, captivating sea-blue eyes that naturally draw you to him and the whiskers that were on both of his tanned cheeks. When she dared to question him about him, he seemed to consider it for a moment before answering.

"The doll maker was very fond of foxes." Then he grinned, with a mysterious glint in his eyes. He didn't explain anything else, which did cause the pinkette to become more curious to who this doll maker was. She knew it was obviously someone from her family, but the knowledge she knew concerning that was extremely limited, as she only had close relations with her grandmother, and she didn't really know her parents as they had also passed away in a car crash during the early days of her life.

Sasuke wasn't much help either, unfortunately. He kept quiet about the doll maker and instead he changed the topic so it was concerning her wellbeing or anything else that didn't relate to the key topic that she wanted to know more about. The pinkette considered the raven haired male like an (overprotective) big brother, he insisted on helping her whether it was about the preparation of the food, going out for grocery shopping whenever the food stocks were low and assisting her with any problems she may have with her homework (though, there were very slim chances of that happening.) Though it certainly doesn't sound like it, Sasuke does give her breathing space even though he bothers her from time to time. He always appeared to be very distant looking, especially when he preoccupied himself with a book, he had taken recently to reading _Alice in Wonderland_, much to her surprise.

"Alice reminds me of the doll maker." That was his answer when she curiously inquired to his interest in the book. That was the only thing he had spoken about the doll maker, but it did not feed her curiosity, it just increased it. Sakura, herself admired Alice, for her courage and wisdom, though she did prove to be very naive and innocent in some aspects of the book. Nevertheless, _Alice in Wonderland _was one of her favourites to read.

Kiba was a completely different matter. He was immensely rude, egoistic, abrupt speaking, lazy and he didn't clean after himself. The only thing that was stopping Sakura was that he was a doll and that intrigued her, the other two always seem to hold defensive stances around her whenever Kiba is around, that only made her confused.

The chatty brunette seemed harmless enough, despite having many negative qualities, but she tried to not let her guard down either. He was probably the only one who was completely open to her, as he was very talkative, especially when he had nothing to entertain him. The brunette did answer some of her questions, concerning the unknown doll maker, however much to her dismay –all of his answer were very vague and didn't reveal anything particularly significant.

"Well, the doll maker is a woman." He began; he placed his forefinger on his chin thoughtfully. Sakura inwardly rolled her eye; that minor face was evidently obvious as it was one of her _great_ _grandmothers_. "She was a _huge_ animal lover and... I can't remember anything else." He scratched his head sheepishly. Sakura sighed, as she leaned back into her recliner chair and closed her eyes to regain some of the lost sleep.

"Oh, I remembered now, she looked exactly like you, pinky." He nodded to himself, where he sat Indian style on the carpet floor. Sakura's eye lids snapped open to attention, as she quickly glanced over to the brunette, who seemed pleased with himself with remembering. Now _that _definitely got her full concentration, though it seemed that the brunette didn't have anything else to say as he sauntered out of the room, most likely to get more food.

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Sakura bit off a corner of her freshly butted toast in thought, her great grandmother –the mysterious doll maker apparently looked exactly like her? She had just barely registered the fact that Sasuke had just placed a cup of warm coffee in front of her, so she smiled quickly in thanks. He simply nodded, as he busied himself with various other things in the kitchen.

Naruto sat in the chair opposite her, he chatting contentedly to her, as he slurped his ramen. She had learnt that the instant ramen food was Naruto's favourites of all time; she admitted that she was surprised that they could eat at all. He replied that in human form, which he is in now, he can act exactly like a human being, much to her amazement. He had explained that he would only return to his doll form if Sakura gave him up voluntary to a new owner, the same rule applied to Sasuke.

"So what are we supposed to do while you're in school all day?" Kiba crossed his arms over his chest, his brown eyes watching her intently. The pinkette pondered that for a moment, she knew she could trust Naruto and Sasuke in her apartment, as they seemed more than wiling to help her maintain a clean and tidy home. Kiba, on the other hand was the complete utter opposite. He always went out of his way to cause trouble for Sakura, like by leaving his dirty plates in the living room and dropping his used towels all over the bathroom floor. The only thing that was stopping her from kicking him out of her apartment was that he would put the _puppy dog_ trick; the unfortunate thing was he performed it so convincingly, that she didn't have the heart to make him live on the streets.

"Well, you could just watch some TV if you wanted?" Sakura suggested.

"What if there's nothing on?"

"I've got lots of books you can read from in the living room."

"Books? What do you think I am -a nerd?"

"Oi, I read books, you ungrateful mutt." Sasuke intervened, shooting a harsh look at the brunette, who simply rolled his eyes.

"Those are your only options," Sakura shrugged. "You guys aren't allowed to leave this place when I am gone, but I will inquire to see if you can apply to join my school." She tried to think of a reasonable solution, though the idea of Sasuke and Naruto following her around like mother hens didn't quite seem...nice, especially when she got more attention in school than she wanted. Naruto's cerulean orbs instantly lit up at the idea of attending school, the pinkette could see him jumping up and down in his seat in child-like excitement.

"Really? You would do that for us, Sakura-chan?" Out of nowhere, stars seemed to appear in his eyes. Sakura, though startled by his enthusiasm, smiled easily as she inclined her head to confirm his words. "Sure, but I don't want you to get your hopes up Naruto-san." She shot him a weary look, but that didn't seem to dishevel his mood.

"I don't mind Sakura-chan, even if we aren't accepted, we will always be here for you." He grinned cheerfully, and then he turned to talk to Sasuke who appeared to have a mild interest in the topic of attending schools. The pinkette's eyes widened slightly, but the blond didn't notice this. She watched Naruto talk animatedly, seemingly on the opportunity to go to school. It was almost if he had never been in a school in his life, she shook her head at this as she knew that there wasn't anything particularly interesting about school –especially when you've been going pretty much all your life.

"We have been to school Sakura, it's just it's been a while since we've last been in one." Sakura glanced up at the brunette, who was leaning casually against the wall with his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked at her with a sense of secrecy before he joined in the conversation with Naruto and Sasuke.

* * *

The school bell rang, just as a few stray students started to pour into the classrooms. Sakura had arrived thirty minutes early, as per usual to look over her notes, as there was a test that morning. She sat in the first row of tables, although it was branded as the "newbie" or "geek" table, the rest of the class certainly didn't treat her like that. Instead, she was highly respected as being the most intelligent, friendly (and pretty, if you count the boys' opinion) student in the class. Sakura didn't really mind this, though the attention was sometimes overbearing to deal with sometimes.

Later on, about roughly fifteen minutes had passed and the teacher still hadn't showed up. Sakura's usual English teacher had called in sick that morning, according to Shizune the school's secretary. The pinkette had known the black haired woman since she had started the school a few years back, when she was far too timid to speak to anyone else. Considering her lack of social skills due to staying at home when she was looking after her elderly grandmother, it was safe to say that Sakura wasn't very comfortable speaking to strangers. This was still true even until today, however the difference was that her communication skills had vastly improved.

"Yo, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I will be your substitute teacher for today, and I have a few announcements." A deep, unfamiliar voice broke her chain of thoughts, so she lifted to head to inspect the new teacher. Much to her surprise, he had wild gravity defying sliver hair, his eyes were mismatched –one being obsidian black and the other crimson red— and he wore a mask that covered the bottom half of his face, leaving a mysterious sense to him.

She could already hear the girl population in the class swooning and inwardly rolled her eyes.

"You're late, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura shot him a cold look; she folded her arms over her chest. The sliver haired male glanced at her, for a moment he looked surprised that a _girl_ would say that. But that instantly melted into a smile, or at least she assumed that he was smiling with his eyes crinkling in evident amusement.

"I apologise for being late, but I just happened to an old lady who was carrying her shopping—"He began, with a feigned apologetic tone, his gaze settled firmly on the pinkette.

"Please, save your excuses sensei." She narrowed her eyes in distrust, as she easily dismissed his bland lies. "I believe you had something to inform us, please do so quickly so we can continue with the lesson." Outwardly, she seemed cool and composed. Inwardly, she was cursing herself for being so abrupt and rude –to a teacher no less, she could imagine what her grandmother would say to her in this situation and she shuddered.

"Thank you for reminding me..." He trailed off, as he raised one sliver brow. He was inwardly bemused with how the situation had developed quickly.

"Haruno Sakura." Was her curt response.

But he quickly recovered with a small smirk as he lifted one arm, in the direction to the door. "Sakura-chan," At this point, she could have _sworn _he purred her name, she inwardly shuddered at the thought, but she was probably just being overly paranoid. He inclined his head at her, his eyes straying away from her figure to the door and the pinkette felt relived from the intense stares he sent her. It was only now she was now fully aware of the whispering going on around her, many of which had involved the new teacher was "flirting" with her. It seemed that she was so wrapped up in her emotions, that she simply forgot where she was.

She blanched at the thought of this arrogant, rude man "flirting" with her, as it was be wrong on _so _many levels and it was illegal as he could easily lose his job, or at least that's what she tried to reassure herself with.

"We have two new students today with us." It was an understatement for Sakura if she said she was utterly relived that he had just announced that, as it seemed to draw the class' attention to him. "They have travelled all the way from America, so I fully expect from everyone to take care of these students." He motioned for the people standing by the door to enter, and the class waited with anticipation. Sakura focused on her notes instead, as she didn't want to feign interest.

She heard quiet shuffling into the room, as the noise had dialled down considerably but she still didn't lift her head. It wasn't a hard guess that one of the pair was male, as the girls started to converse with each other excitably. Sakura rolled her eyes; there were new students every other week, so it wasn't exactly an interesting spectacle.

Though, she heard some other girls gasp in recognition, for the girl she resumed. So, to silence her growing curiosity, she glanced up to see the pair –who were staring intently at her. She thought initially that they must have been looking at someone else, however much to her horror –it was _her_ they were staring at. To say she was _very_ uncomfortable was an understatement.

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A/N: Right, in this chapter we learn some facts about the "doll maker". I suppose in a way, you could consider this somewhat like a filter chapter as there wasn't much happening. But, as you have just recently found out, there have been two new arrivals. Unfortunately for you readers, you won't find out who they are until the next chapter, and the person who gets the answer right will be dedicated to in the next chapter (which I have just started working on.)

For some of you who are anticipating the next chapter of 20 Perfect Dates, I'm happy to announce that I've written nearly half of the chapter now, so hopefully I'll be able to post it sometime maybe in July/August depending on how much I get done in either month!

I really wanted to say that I appreciate all the support I've getting for you guys, who have either favourited, reviewed of put this on story alert!

Saku-Chan


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